Autograph letter signed ("J.R.R. Tolkien"), to W.B. Crouch of the Southern Cigar Co., Canford Cliffs, Poole, apologising for breaking in on him so abruptly on Monday: "I was in great haste and also distress. I wish now to assure you that, I have much appreciated your kindness and courtesy, and wish you all success. I am very sorry to cease dealing with your delightful shop, and I hope to call on you if ever I am in Canford Cliffs again" and adding that the Sunday Times will contain a large picture of him on 2 January in anticipation of his birthday; autograph envelope, one page, printed heading, very slight creasing but an attractive letter in attractive condition, 8vo, c/o George Allen & Unwin, postmarked 28 December 1971

Footnotes

TOLKIEN TO HIS TOBACCONNIST: 'There is another thing about Hobbits of old that must be mentioned, an astonishing habit: they imbibed or inhaled, through pipes of clay or wood, the smoke of the burning leaves of a herb, which they called pipe-weed or leaf, a variety probably of Nicotiana. A great deal of mystery surrounds the origin of this peculiar custom, or "art" as the Hobbits preferred to call it...' ('Concerning Pipe-weed', Prologue to Lord of the Rings, one-volume edition, 1968, p. 20). Tolkien celebrated his eightieth birthday on 3 January 1972, extracts of an interview with him appearing in the Sunday Times Colour Section the day before.

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